Hog Slat - Feed-O-Matic Automatic Treadle Chicken Feeder

Waiting to receive my Feed-O-Matic Auto Chicken Feeder (link below). Couldn't find any real user reviews online (perhaps relatively new product) so took a chance and ordered one (Let's see how it goes-price was great!).

Time from Ordering to Arriving at home: Fair - had to send email to the company 1 week after ordering as website said it had not been shipped yet and was still in 'processing', and no email or tracking # had been received. Company responded quickly (same day) and resolved issue (it was on it's way but system hadn't been updated). Rep (woman) was very nice about it. Hey....we all have days like that so it only bothered me a little.

Assembly - Easy! Was able to put it together by myself in less than 10 minutes. (I bought the smaller one as I only have 7 hens). Instructions aren't the best but you can figure it out pretty easily. I didn't have to alter the assembly or drill holes or anything like that. It was good as is.

Construction - solid and sturdy, hens can't knock it over. Even empty it is a nice solid weight but not too heavy to carry.

Introduction to hens: Put a rock on the treadle for 2 days and sprinkled some food close to it. They figured it out quickly. Was able to take the rock off after 3 days. 2 hens can be side by side to eat at one time.

Spillage - the treadle does have holes and some feed falls beneath this as they eat but very little. The food falls too too low for them to get to it underneath where it spilled through the holes. Solution? I just move the feeder to a different place in the run when it's close to empty and they finish off what was left underneath (at most 1 cup of pellets).

Difference from PVC tube feeder I was using before: Amazing. They were flicking so much feed out of the tubes it was craziness; tubes were 3 feet tall and empty in 1 day from this. Now there is hardly a mess and I love it.

Recommendation: YES YES YES. You can't beat the price for this treadle feeder compared to what's out there right now (Grandpa's Feeders, etc). GO FOR IT! You'll be glad you did.

I ordered the large size one of these yesterday. My biggest problems are little sparrows eating the food during the day, and rats coming around at night. I think this feeder will eliminate both problems. Thanks so much for your review. When I get mine, I'll post pics.

Hi,
I purchased a very similar feeder from a different vendor a few months ago, but I am liking the looks of this "hog slat" version because of the ample-sized treadle.

Questions: How deep is the feed trough that the chickens access?
Is the feed bin designed so crumbles will dispense and slide nicely down into the trough?
Does the construction seem sturdy? No sharp edges, no ill-fitting corners, etc?
How wide is the front opening for hens?
How high off the ground does the treadle sit, if located on a flat, solid surface?

Thanks in advance for replying. The website doesn't show a real close-up of the front/inside of the feeder. I'm just being picky!

I've used my feeder for about a month now & I love it!! It took the girls about 2 days to figure out the treadle feeder, but now it's no problem. The biggest benefit is far less wasted food. I had a whole flock of sparrows who had discovered free food. Before this feeder, when I'd go into the run, literally 100 sparrows would fly out. They were always hanging around the yard, with bird droppings everywhere. And you don't know what kind of diseases they can carry. Now, I still see sparrows in the area, but not in my run!! I also had a problem with rats. Now they're gone also. Not only is the food covered, but the design makes it almost impossible for the food to be scratched out.

The unit seems very sturdy with no sharp edges. The design allows the food to flow very smoothly down the chute. The large model holds over 25 pounds of crumbles. I know it costs more, but I get my feed in 25 pound bags since I can't handle the 50 pound bags. I'm really surprised at how long the feed is lasting.

My only concern is that only 2 hens can feed at time. With 13 chickens, they sometimes are jostling for feed. I wish I had bought one of these sooner!